Families Encouraged To Download Smart911 App: Police

NORTHPORT, NY — With a new school year on the horizon, the Northport Police Department is urging Long Island families to download the Smart911 app and create a safety profile for their household to provide vital information to 911 in the event of an emergency.

The free service is available to help plan ahead for an emergency. Smart911, the national public safety service, allows families to create a Safety Profile for their household by downloading the Smart911 App or going to www.smart911.com, and providing details such as photos of children, home address, medical notes and emergency contacts.

If any member of the family dials 9-1-1 from any phone number registered to their profile, that information will be available to dispatchers to send response teams to the correct location with current information on the person in need. These details can lead to heightened police response to any emergency, including:

Missing Child

In the event that a child is missing, having a current photo and physical description on the family’s Safety Profile can save valuable time, as that information can be sent to officers in the field immediately to begin a search.

Emergency Call from a Child

A child may know how to dial 9-1-1, but they may not always be able to relay the information needed to get help fast. Details such as an address or medical notes on a parent or other family member in need can be included in the Safety Profile so that the dispatcher does not have to rely on the child for information.

An Incident Walking To or From School

If a child carries a cell phone and needs help while walking to or from school for a medical issue or an accident, the Safety Profile will provide contact information for parents or other emergency contacts who need to be notified.

An Incident at Home

In the event of a house fire, accident or other emergency at home, responders can be aware of who lives in the house, including pets, and be sure everyone is safe and accounted for when they arrive on scene.

"With the return of school, safety is our top priority for all of our children, families and friends," Northport Chief of Police Chris Hughes stated. "We encourage all families in our community to take advantage of Smart911 in order to help us better help them in an emergency. The addition of a Smart911 profile will only enhance our response time and efforts to ensure our entire community will stay safe."

Smart911 is currently available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities across the country, and has been credited with positively impacting emergency outcomes including a missing child in which the girl’s photo and physical description were immediately available to 9-1-1 and responders, as well as a heart attack victim where an address and medical notes allowed responders to be dispatched to his location quickly.